Checklist for success

For a team that has made six straight NCAA Final Four appearances, the Duke Blue Devils possess an outlook for the upcoming season that will seem generic to many.

However, with the consistency and success that this team has experienced under head coach John Danowski, it is hard to question the simplistic reasoning of it all.

“It’s pretty much the same every year: You’d like to win some face-offs, you’d like to shoot well, make some saves, and pick up more groundballs than your opponent,” Danowski said.

He qualified his statement a little more by adding: “It’s a little more complicated than that, but for the most part, that’s really it.”

Basically what the Duke coach referred to was the fact that his team will be successful if it accomplishes everything included on the checklist for success — win the face-off battle, play good defense in front of your goalie, and hit the cage on offense.

Simple and straightforward is how Duke has prepared for the 2013 season with a lot of sweat dropped in the weight room during the fall, and with hard work put in on the field during the spring preseason.

Figuring it all out

Duke possesses significant depth in all positions and will use the talent and abilities of every individual to achieve team success as Danowski refers to it.

Ask him to identify key players, and you get an answer that doesn’t single out one player as being ‘the guy’ but a chorus of individuals that when put together, will create the right chemistry to advance this team to another Final Four appearance and beyond.

“Offensively or defensively we don’t have any star players, but we have a lot of really good athletes,” said Danowski. “They could become star players, but who knows. We never coach to that. We’re trying to play together as a team and figure out what we’re going to become.”

Does Danowski and his staff, which includes veteran assistant coach Ron Caputo and newcomers and former ACC standouts Matt Danowski (assistant coach) and Joe Cinosky (volunteer asssitant coach), know who their top players are?

Of course — that’s who comprises their White squad when you watch them practice.

“All preseason, we got a pretty good feel for the 23-24 guys in the White team and those are the guys we have been focusing on getting ready for opening day,” he said.

Developing the proper dynamic

In terms of offensive and defensive strategy and who fits where and when — that will evolve from the starters Danowski begins with, and how they handle their opposition during each game and as the season progresses.

“There are really no key guys in a sense; it’s really more how they play together,” Danowski said. “It’s more the team dynamic. Can we find the right mix of guys that can play together? Defensively, it’s kind of the same thing. We find guys who can figure out how to help each other and communicate. If we can find that chemistry with those guys, then we’ve found something.”

Depth from front to back

At the front end, the Blue Devils return all three attackmen — Jordan Wolf, Josh Dionne, Christian Walsh — along with freshman Case Mathies, who is expected to compete for playing time.

“We have a little bit of depth and competition which I think will make us stronger as the year goes on as we gain game experience,” Danowski said of his team’s capabilities at the attack position.

No doubt having the coach’s son, a former NCAA standout and MLL veteran, to help a group like that will only increase their potential to become an even better ball-moving and scoring offensive threat around the cage.

At the X, Brendan Fowler and Greg DeLuca will take faceoffs while Luke Duprey and Brian Daley will fill out the long-stick middie responsibilities of scooping up groundballs.

“Between Greg and Brendan, we feel pretty comfortable athletically with those two guys.”

This will be a different dynamic on the face-off without the dual-purpose playing abilities that CJ Costabile possessed.

The potential for Duprey, who played at close defense last season, and Deluca to pick up GBs and create fast-break opportunities using their length, strength and speed could provide for a seamless fit for the Blue Devils to develop their transition off the draw with, but only time will tell if that will be the case.

At close defense, Chris Hipps, Bill Conners, Henry Lobb did a lot of the heavy lifting starting last season and will lead the long pole unit into the season.

The recent announcement of the loss of Casey Carroll because of a knee injury suffered during practice that required surgery, may allow some underclassmen the opportunity to develop and show what they’ve got more quickly than anticipated.

“Going in he (Carroll) was competing; he was one of our top-four close defensemen and unfortunately was injured and that was it,” Danowski said.

As the most senior member between the pipes, Dan Wigrizer leads a deep set of goalkeepers for the Blue Devils.

“Dan is a senior now and has played in a lot of big games for us,” Danowski continued. “Then after Dan, Kyle Turri was one of the Under-19 goalies that won a gold medal in Finland. He’s been playing very well during preseason. We’re very happy with sophomore Ben Krebs and freshman Luke Aaron. We’ve got four goalies we feel that we can win with.”

Streaking

Wins are the key stat for Duke and getting them at home has played to its favor, time and time again.

The Blue Devils haven’t lost a game at home since losing to Maryland in the final game of the 2011 ACC Tournament which it hosted at Koskinen Stadium.

Danowski holds a 59-6 record at home while he has led the Duke program, and his team is riding a 9-0 record at home since last year, and it will play 11 games at home during the 2013 season.

To say that the Blue Devils’ schedule and playing at home provides a tremendous advantage to them would be a serious understatement.

Best Bet: Jordan Wolf, Attack

As Duke’s leading scorer last season, Wolf finished with 63 points (32G, 31A), and the Blue Devils will rely on his ability to pass and score again.

With linemates Dionne and Walsh ready and waiting to receive passes from Wolf, don’t be surprised to see him also help the midfield corps. With the intensity he plays with, he’s always a handful for opposing defenders to deal with around the cage.

Sleeper Pick: Luke Duprey, Longstick Midfield

The 6-foot-5 longstick midfielder will get the opportunity to establish himself as a go-to player on this team.

Using his height and length, if Duprey is able to accomplish even half of what Costabile did by scooping up groundballs, Duke will be in good shape off the face-off and in transition.

Unless Duke’s game plan changes at some point during the season, winning the battle for groundballs will always be a key to its success in every game.

Game to Watch: vs. Denver , 1 p.m. Feb. 9; vs Loyola, 7 p.m. Mach 8

The first game of the season puts the Blue Devils to the test immediately against the Pioneers.

Duke fell 15-9 to the Pioneers last April at Mile High Stadium, falling behind twice in the game, coming back once, but unable to recover from Denver’s second scoring run that put the game out of reach.

You have to respect the fact that Danowski is willing to challenge his squad right from the opening faceoff of the season, and this will only help his team to determine who it is relatively quickly.

“On paper it’s one thing, but until you see your team. Games are different than scrimmages, scrimmages are different than practice, and you’re waiting to see how guys respond,” Danowski said.

Duke will then meet the defending champion Loyola Greyhounds just before the midpoint of its season.

This matchup will serve as confirmation of whether this year’s edition of the Blue Devils can beat top-level competition — Denver, Notre Dame and Maryland by then — and whether they have the ability and makeup to run the table by the end of the season.